Global Power Generation by Technology
The Art
The Graph
“Renewables become the largest source of global electricity generation by early 2025, surpassing coal. Their share of the power mix is forecast to increase by 10 percentage points over the forecast period, reaching 38% in 2027. Renewables are the only electricity generation source whose share is expected to grow, with declining shares for coal, natural gas, nuclear and oil generation. Electricity from wind and solar PV more than doubles in the next five years, providing almost 20% of global power generation in 2027. These variable technologies account for 80% of global renewable generation increase over the forecast period, which will require additional sources of power system flexibility. Meanwhile, the growth of dispatchable renewables including hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal and concentrated solar power remains limited despite their critical role in integrating wind and solar PV into global electricity systems...
Solar PV’s installed power capacity is poised to surpass that of coal by 2027, becoming the largest in the world. Cumulative solar PV capacity almost triples in our forecast, growing by almost 1 500 GW over the period, exceeding natural gas by 2026 and coal by 2027. Annual solar PV capacity additions increase every year for the next five years. Despite current higher investment costs due to elevated commodity prices, utility-scale solar PV is the least costly option for new electricity generation in a significant majority of countries worldwide. Distributed solar PV, such as rooftop solar on buildings, is also set for faster growth as a result of higher retail electricity prices and growing policy support to help consumers save money on their energy bills. “
IEA, Global electricity generation by technology, 2015, 2021 and 2027, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/global-electricity-generation-by-technology-2015-2021-and-2027, IEA. Licence: CC BY 4.0* Updated Dec 5, 2022
